


that collar, why won’t you take it off

by milkbear



Series: v. tales [2]
Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Cats, Fluff, Kissing, M/M, shrug
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-29
Updated: 2019-06-29
Packaged: 2020-05-30 19:55:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,257
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19410277
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/milkbear/pseuds/milkbear
Summary: renjun is not a kitten(but jaemin still calls him one)





	that collar, why won’t you take it off

**Author's Note:**

> inspired by [ah, it’s a wonderful cat life](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=O8YDGI41mpQ)  
> also, in this au humans (including cat owners) are not aware that cats can shapeshift into people

it is a chilled, overcast afternoon when a visitor climbs his claws up a proudly red maple tree. the rustling of its fiery leaves and branches snapping under a newly introduced weight signal the arrival of someone — an agile little creature that has come for one purpose, which is to meet the love of his life. 

there is only a singular place where he can see his beloved, and he must access it by climbing his way up the tall tree and sitting on one specific branch that reaches to the tree’s neighbor, an apartment building. the reason for this is because this feline crush of his tends to lounge on a windowsill when he has nothing better to do. though, there sometimes is an issue, which is that the window may be closed off by curtains or the subject at hand is busy sleeping, eating or at worse, taken away on a vacation by his owner. 

(the other issue is that this cat’s undying love may or may not be completely and utterly unrequited, but that can be addressed later.)

the cat — a common black bombay with lime-gold eyes, covered in some dirt and stains that his fur conveniently camouflages — is a stray. he has no home; instead, he wanders around the town all day, stopping here and there to rest on roofs to spectate working humans, meowing cutely for food when he is hungry and can’t hunt anything for himself. he is independent and adventurous, having explored every inch of the town, but he wants to see more. 

now, on the other hand, the particular cat that caught his attention on a fateful evening is an abyssinian with a white-black coat, which fades to create a silvery gray cape on his back. this abyssinian sits gracefully, quietly, _majestically_ (all in the stray’s perspective, of course) on the windowsill of his owner’s home, staring at the vast sky and passersby with his stoic, refined look. the way his silvery coat shimmers under both the moon and sun’s rays seem _godly_ , almost, like he’s covered in a constant aura of sparkles or… or… shiny scales of the yummiest plate of sardines. oh, he would give all the sardines in the great big ocean to this ethereal cat if he could. 

but the abyssinian more or so rejects the stray’s constant shower of compliments and affection. whether it is out of pure disinterest or an underlying shyness that he won’t admit to having, the bombay hasn’t a clue. that does not, by any means, stop him from climbing the tree just to catch a glimpse at the feline whenever he can, just like on this cloudy afternoon.

when the black cat is perched upon the routine branch, facing the building, his cat-crush is sitting on the windowsill to his utmost pleasure. he seats himself on a collection of branches near the trunk, eagerly blinking at the abyssinian. the other cat seems to have noticed the presence but has yet to actually behave like he has. 

the bombay smiles, as much as a cat can smile, and suddenly, his body is engulfed by a bright light before what should’ve been a black cat is now a young man with golden eyes, slit pupils and black hair. he sits comfortably in the tree, a foot on the branch and his arm resting on his knee, while the other leg swings. he is dressed like a modern teenager(?): collared t-shirt with a colorful pattern, unpopped and all buttons undone, another plain white shirt underneath, light-washed jeans with intentional holes in them, and dirty checkered sneakers. and yes, he is still smiling. 

“you look stunning as ever, kitten.”

a scoff and averting of his blue gaze. the white cat also morphs instantaneously to a young man, who has matching silver hair and an icy blue gaze that stares coldly at his visitor. he dons an oversized, white dress shirt with a tall, fancy collar that is tucked in black shorts and knee-high white socks — a look that jaemin often complains about how much of an eighteenth century rich brat it makes renjun appear like (although those complaints don’t necessarily equate to jaemin disliking how renjun looks in them). he sits sideways, his back resting on the wall of the window and his feet are upon the sill. he turns to his guest.

“i’m not a kitten, jaemin. we’ve gone over this.”

“it’s just an affectionate nickname, junnie.”

“whatever.” 

jaemin smiles. this is how their typical conversation goes at first, when renjun is not yet comfortable (or is it annoyance?) with the talking. “how’s our dear chenle?”

chenle is renjun’s owner. he’s a college student from a wealthy family over in shanghai, currently living by himself in an apartment room. the abyssinian is originally from china as well — his leather collar has his name in chinese letters printed on it, along with a little golden bell and red ribbon. red, of course, because the chinese love that color. and gold, too, but many other people regardless of culture probably also love gold. 

“he’s fine. on a date with his boyfriend-to-be,” answers renjun. his nose is in the air and he refuses to give jaemin even the quickest glance. “and don’t call him ‘our chenle’. might i remind you that you are a stray?”

“the stray life is not as bad as you think.” jaemin purrs, his eyes lidded slightly. “it’s _freedom_. you get to catch all the fish and chase all the pigeons you want. you can watch the humans do their things while you relax on a tree or roof.”

this turns renjun’s head. he gazes disapprovingly at jaemin. “but who will protect you? i have daily meals, soft beds, a warm home. and you, bombay? you never know when you could get hit by a truck out there in the streets.”

jaemin pouts. “you think pessimistically, kitten.” 

“jaemin,” the other reminds the black cat about the unfitting nickname.

“oh, jaemin, don’t say this, jaemin, don’t say that.” he winks a very cliche wink. “i know you missed me. you miss me every time i leave.” out of nowhere, he gets on his feet, though somewhat squatting. he’s getting ready to pounce. “make way, renjun! open the window all the way!”

renjun’s eyes roll but he does so anyways, hopping off the windowsill and back into the room. he pushes the window up and steps out of the way for jaemin, who is waiting and watching like a cat who has his eyes on prey. and then he jumps, diving through the window and tumbling onto the floor, resulting in a graceful collision with the door: “ow.”

renjun snickers at him.

groaning, jaemin gets up from the carpet floor, and then grins as he points an accusatory index finger at the pet. “i made you laugh.”

“of course you did, with your _very_ well-executed landing.”

jaemin approaches the giggling renjun, having no shame whatsoever in being laughed at — he’s his crush, after all, and everything and anything the abyssinian cat does is cute, adorable, and every other synonym in his foolishly in-love eyes. at this point in their daily interaction, renjun has warmed up to the stray and doesn’t mind looking directly at him anymore. jaemin, all of a sudden, grabs the other’s hands. the way his gaze is sternly fixed on renjun and they hold hands is almost as if he’s doing the thing humans do when they get married. except, to renjun, it really does feel like a marriage ritual (and yes, he is very much aware of the feelings that jaemin harbors for him).

“renjun, in all seriousness, why won’t you live with me as a stray? why do you let yourself be restrained by that collar?” questions jaemin a little solemnly, his voice soft. renjun can only frown slightly. “sure, you can live in this home with your human, but… a cat’s life happens only once. is this what you really want to do all your cat life?”

renjun glances away. it’s a tough question to provide an answer for because, well, he doesn’t have one. he’s given it some thought, yes — he loves his owner chenle and all, but it isn’t as if he’s never considered that he has unlived, undiscovered potential in the outside world. and jaemin? if it was with him, this black-coated bombay, maybe he wouldn’t feel so afraid of nature’s cruel ways for stray cats… 

jaemin’s eyebrows furrow gently. his hands grip tighter. “you know how much i care for you, right? how i’d risk everything to protect you?”

“i know,” mutters renjun, pulling himself away from the grip. he sits back on the windowsill, faint breeze causing his silver locks to dance. the sky is increasingly a dark gray and the air is noticeably humid. “but i can’t leave chenle. i just can’t.”

that’s right — renjun has an owner that he cares and loves for, that he couldn’t possibly choose to abandon. and jaemin, being a stray cat since birth, would never understand that. 

jaemin steps closer. “renjun?” he calls.

the silver-haired one turns to glance at jaemin with his usual indifferent expression.

“i really want to kiss you right now,” shamelessly, jaemin confesses with maybe a little too much confidence. a couple seconds pass of eyes blinking, renjun thinking silently and jaemin awaiting his answer patiently, his grin not present this time.

“go ahead.”

now _that_ catches jaemin off guard.

“wha — are you sure…?” he asks confusedly, questioning whether he’s being tricked or not. renjun is as serious as ever but his chin is nodding. can all these days of total, blunt rejection really just come to a stop all of a sudden, merely from a simple “go ahead” to his want to kiss renjun (which was more or less a thought, a constant one, that rolled off his tongue to form words)? in fact, he is so off guard by the unusual acceptance that his (human) ears are growing pink and he becomes uncharacteristically nervous. “well — _ahem_ — okay… okay. in that case, here i go —”

renjun can’t stand it anymore. his fingers latch onto jaemin’s shirt and pull him close, just to where the tip of their noses touch. “do i really have to do this myself?” he murmurs, vexxed at the way jaemin is acting despite his moment of courage in letting him kiss him. his eyelids fall like curtains ending a show — his hands, tugging, bring their faces to a close proximity. his mouth is open, just barely, and a moment goes by before the two press their lips together. 

once their lips touch, once jaemin realizes that the soft, plump lips he’s kissing belong to the one and only renjun, he’s into it. grabbing onto renjun’s waist, he leans in deeper, his eyes shut, his lips constantly for more of renjun. meanwhile, the silver-headed one places his hands on jaemin’s elbows, almost fearful that he’ll fall off the window if he doesn’t grab on for dear life because the prolonged kiss is much more intense than he expected it to be — and it’s his first ever. 

they kiss until renjun is out of breath. jaemin doesn’t part so easily since, well, he doesn’t want to — they end with jaemin just a few inches away from renjun, gazing down at the red-faced renjun and panting softly. renjun, who had signaled his shortage of oxygen with soft whining, is breathing heavily and most likely unable to kiss right again, which is what jaemin desires. so, instead, the black-haired boy goes to planting kisses on his love’s chin, under his chin, and his neck. renjun, who is unfamiliar to the sensation of being pecked all over his neck, a rather sensitive body part, whimpers into jaemin’s ear, a sound that registers as a sweet melody in the one giving him the affectionate kisses.

“j-jaemin,” renjun cries, hushed, reaching his arms to jaemin’s back and yanking on the fabric of his shirt. “that feels odd…”

jaemin pauses. his nose brushes against the silky skin of renjun’s neck. he inhales, taking in the scent of renjun: vanilla and lilacs — which he has detected before — and thought to be a strange combination. now, it’s just heavenly. “is it uncomfortable? should i stop?”

renjun mumbles something incoherent that the other cannot hear. his hands dig into jaemin’s dark locks, running his fingers throughout. “i didn’t catch that, kitten,” murmurs jaemin, prompting the other to repeat himself.

“you… don’t have to stop…” jaemin hears, spoken in a reluctant tone. he smiles into renjun’s skin and he’s just about to resume before the click-clack of a door unlocking and swinging open makes them freeze. someone’s home. 

“ _i’m home~ where are you, renjun-ah?_ ” the voice calls cheerfully in a foreign language jaemin doesn’t understand. either way, it ensues panic. renjun shoves jaemin off of him hurriedly.

“chenle’s here! get out!” he mouths before morphing back to his abyssinian form.

jaemin glances out the window. sometime during their kiss-session, it started raining — no, _pouring._ as much as he’s lived outdoors his entire life, he, like most cats, hates water. “renjun, it’s pouring out there! i can’t leave!”

“ _are you in here, little buddy...?_ ” the door to the room with the window opens. a blonde chenle peeks his head through and gasps. he then shrieks at the sight, but it’s out of joy. 

his pet, renjun and a black cat he’s never seen before are sitting on the windowsill, staring back at him.

“ _renjun, you brought over a friend?!_ ”

**Author's Note:**

> psst this fic has a [sequel](https://archiveofourown.org/works/19465873)


End file.
